Zlatan Ibrahimović visited members of the Italian taekwondo team in Rome ©FITA

Football icon Zlatan Ibrahimović visited members of the Italian taekwondo team to reacquaint himself with the sport he practiced as a child.

The 40-year-old Swedish striker, who plays in Italy for AC Milan, met athletes including Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Vito Dell'Aquila in Rome.

He presented custom Milan shirts to the group, which included Italian Taekwondo Federation President Angelo Cito.

In return he received artwork of himself performing a taekwondo kick, while the team carried out a kicking demonstration.

Ibrahimović was in the Italian capital for his side's Serie A clash with AS Roma, and he scored the opening goal in a 2-1 victory.

He has an honorary black belt in taekwondo after training in his hometown of Malmö as a child.

Italian news agency ANSA said that the martial art was his "first love", but he ultimately opted for football.

Standing at six feet and five inches, the Swede has won more than 30 trophies in his career.

He has represented some of Europe's most prestigious clubs, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

At international level he has 118 caps for Sweden, scoring 62 goals.

Ibrahimović is known for his confident persona away from the field, where he is often outspoken while referring to himself in the third person.